Wild & Specialty Mushroom Glossary D To K

These long and slender mushrooms are almost too pretty to eat. They have a mild flavor, often called fruity, and can be used raw instead of sprouts for crunch in a sandwich; or, toss them into a salad (trim the spongy base) or stir fry. We like to tie them into a bouquet with a chive and use them as a garnish, or float a few delicate mushrooms atop soups. They are cultivated year round. Other names include enokitake, enokidake, nametake, snow puff mushroom, velvet foot mushroom and winter mushroom.

This handsome, long-stemmed mushroom is great in light soups like miso or wonton soup. They have a firm texture and slight crunch, with mushroomy earthiness. Nameko is often found pickled, for use in sauces and noodle dishes. They are available October through February.

This mushroom gets its name from the small toothlike projections underneath its cap, rather than gills. (Other people see it differently: pied de mouton means sheep’s leg.) It is similar to the chanterelle in color and flavor; the cap is often tawny with a pale stem; the flesh is firm and dense with a very buttery flavor.

Hedgehog mushrooms. Photo courtesy of MarxFoods.com.

HEN OF THE WOODS OR MAITAKE MUSHROOM

The word “maitake” is Japanese for “dancing”; it is rumored that these mushrooms got their name because a discovery of maitake mushrooms was something to dance about. You can see why it is called “hen of the woods” in English. With a flavor that is bold and similar to a portobello, it is excellent baked, braised or sautéed with butter. Not to be confused with chicken of the woods, a different species with a texture similar to chicken.

Hen of the woods or maitake mushroom. Photo courtesy of Bahasajapen.com.

Now cultivated indoors, this impressive-looking mushroom can grow to four inches in height. It has a firm and meaty texture and a mild and elegant flavor. Its scientific name is Pleurotus eryngii; the mushroom is also known as argonane, boletus of the steppes, bouligoule, cardarello, cardoncello, champignon de garrigue, French horn mushroom, and pleorote du panicaut and trumpet royale.

Photo of organic king trumpet mushrooms by Claire Freierman | THE NIBBLE.